HIGHLIGHTS
· 5:55 AM Market Trend: Corn, Up 1-2; Soybeans, 9-10 Higher; Wheat, 4 Higher
· Profit-taking and the up-coming Easter weekend left Asia directionless overnight: The Nikkei closed unchanged; the Hang Seng was .28% higher and Shanghai edged .3% lower. Poorer-than-expected earnings from heavyweights IBM and Google contributed toward a lower start in Europe where the FTSE, DAX and CAC-40 are all off .10-.20%. Wire services report that market reaction to yesterday’s solid U.S. industrial production report added $1.3 billion to the net worth of Koch Industries. Futures indicate a weaker start on Wall Street: Dow, down 43; S&P, off 4.75 and the Nasdaq, 7.25 lower. Gold is $4.90 lower at $1,298.60; energy futures are mixed and the $ Index is off nearly a ¼ point at 79.825
· T-storm Weather: A small area of rain affects a small area of HRW wheat belt today; scattered 0.20” – 0.40” amounts near the Oklahoma-Kansas border. A larger system brings scattered showers to much of the central / southern Plains and western Corn Belt within Saturday-Monday, but well-organized rainfall does not occur; 0.10” – 0.30” is most probable in driest HRW wheat areas of the Plains. Otherwise, a sharp pattern change toward above-average warmth begins this weekend and generally dominates through late-month; upcoming warmth speeds winter wheat development, and prevents topsoil coolness from being a limiting factor for corn, soybean and spring wheat planting. A large system develops along the edge of warmth later next week or weekend; rain cannot be ruled out at any location from this event, but best chance is in northern areas of Corn Belt and Plains
· May Corn Up $.0150 at $4.99; July Up $.0125 at $5.0475. Improved weather outlook led to 7 K in sales
· May SB Up $.0925 at $15.28; July Up $.09 at $15.1775. Fund activity: bought 6 K SB, 4 K SBM and another 6 K SBO yesterday
· May Wheat Up $.04 at $6.92; July Up $.0425 at $6.9950. Funds sold an estimated 5 K at mid-week
CORN/SORGHUM
· Export Sales to be released at 7:30 AM CDT. Trade expects 22 to 33mbu old-crop corn, 0-6 new-crop
· Ethanol grind: 939 thou barrels per day for week end April 11—up 43 thou vs. last week & most since week end Dec. 6
· ATI Research: No ethanol imports were seen last week. Imports averaged 24 thou barrels per day previous two weeks
SOYBEANS/WHEAT
· Export Sales: Trade expects -4 to +4mbu old-crop soybeans, 6-13 new-crop ; soymeal, 100-200 K MT old, 50-100 new; soyoil, 0-50 old, 0-10 new
· May 2014 soybean futures set contract high of $15.22 ¾ Thurs.—highest price for nearby contract since July 23, 2013
· Export Sales: Trade expects 2 to 9mbu old-crop wheat, 8-14 new-crop
· T-storm Weather: Rain total through Mon. for wheat in Central/Southern Plains; near to slightly wetter than average
ENERGY
· Futures are mixed: QCLK14, +$0.33 at $104.09; QRBK, -$0.0009; QNGK, +$.020; and QHOK, -$.0024
· Cash ethanol markets continued to tumble Wednesday: Chicago slipped 13; Gulf dropped 21; Dallas lost a dime; Tampa plummeted 20; NY off 15; and LA prices ended 23 lower at $2.83 ½ per gallon
· Steady to higher trade in RINs: 2012’s up ¾ to 42 ½-45; 2013’s unch at 44-45; and 2014’s gained ¼ to 41 ½-43
· The May RBOB/May ethanol spread added $.0914, now at $.8685 per gallon
LIVESTOCK/POULTRY    
·   Choice boxed beef values increased 89-cents yesterday and have gained $1.63 over the last three days
· The USDA pork carcass cutout value fell 70-cents yesterday and has declined $10.11 over the last eight trading days
· The USDA’s Iowa/Minnesota average cash lean hog price fell $2.64 yesterday to $114.89
· Broiler egg set last week was up 1.2% from last year and average set over the last four weeks is up 0.6%
Sources: Bloomberg, Dow Jones, AP, T-storm Weather